Dinner and a Show
by mariteri
Summary: It's the anniversary of the final battle and for the first time in years, Harry and the others are going to the Ministry of Magic's Ball. Hermione needs a date and finds out that the function is more than just a party-but it's a dinner where she and her date are the show. Rated T to cover my bases.


**Disclaimer—I do not own Harry Potter, The Blacklist, or any of their characters. Nor do I make any moneys from the posting of this fanfiction.**

**Here's another Hermione/Red one shot! Hope you guys like it.**

**Please read and review.**

**…**

**Dinner and a Show**

The anniversary of the final battle had always been one that she dealt with on her own. At the very most she would went up to Scotland with Harry and several others and they would proceed to get drunk on the best money could buy. But no, not this year. It was decided to go to the Ministry event, as they were going to be donating a large sum of money to the orphanage that Harry sponsored.

If not for that, Harry wouldn't be going at all. And since he had asked, other of their friends were attending as well. This left Hermione in a bind. Ron had asked her to go as his date and she had declined, as she didn't want to be going anywhere with him let alone that. This wasn't the bad part. No, it was the fact that she had told him she had an escort to the event already.

Hermione's only date that night would have been with a bottle of scotch and a pint of ice cream with chocolate covered digestives on the side. All in all, not the kind of date he was referring to in the least.

As it was she started with the ice cream early, inviting Victor over to share with her as she dished on what was going on.

"So like a little fool, I told him I had a date," she muttered, staring at her ice cream. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"That you didn't want to start trouble," he murmured. "_Milichka_, you are worrying over nothing."

"I know, but I just don't want Ron coming over to me later on and being such a prat about it," she told him. "He'd tell the others I'd lied about having a date if I showed up without one."

Victor nodded to this, taking the ice cream from her and putting it away. "But that won't be the case."

"It won't?" she asked him. "Why not?"

"Because you are going to have a date," he said.

"But Severus has a date and you're going to be working that night," she replied. "You just told me that."

"I know, but you'll have a date." He winked at her. "You'll see."

"I'm not going with Goyle," she muttered, gaining her a laugh from her friend.

"No you are not," he said still smiling.

She rubbed her eyes, murmuring, "Perhaps I should tell them I'm getting emergency surgery or something."

Grinning he tilted her face up towards his own. "You, my little love, worry too much when you do not sleep as you should. To bed with you."

"The celebration is tomorrow," she stated, as she got to her feet.

"I know," he replied, following her over to her room.

She climbed into bed, Victor pulling the bed clothes over her. Hermione looked over to him, her steady brown eyes studying him quietly.

"Why you should put up with me when I'm being such an awful ninny, I'll never know," she said quietly.

"It happens so infrequently that it is tolerable," he assured her. "Good night, Hermione."

"_Leka nosht_, Victor," she breathed, as she slipped into slumber.

He left her room, taking his mobile phone out and making a call.

"Yes?"

"You will not believe what your little minx got herself into this time," he murmured, closing the bedroom door.

"What?"

"Are you still planning on being in London tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yes, why?"

By the time Victor was finished telling him, Red was chuckling to himself.

"Give me the address and what time to be there," he said. "This should prove to be very entertaining."

…

Hermione had her hair professionally styled and picked up a lovely dress that happened to be on sale that looked perfect on her. But when she arrived home it was to find a dress box on her bed. Curious, she opened it up and gasped in shock. It was a vintage style halter dress in a fire engine red that had her smiling as she pressed the dress to her own body as she looked herself in the mirror. Once it was out of the box, she was amazed to see the foundation garments and shoes there as well as a small note card.

Picking up the card, she read, "Take your time getting ready. I'll pick you up at seven."

The card wasn't signed, but she had the feeling this was Raymond's doing. A classic look, she thought, for a classic man. She did as he suggested and took her time getting ready. It was seven by the time she was putting on her earrings and heard the knocking on her flat's door. Smiling, she went over and answered the door.

Red was waiting there with a single light peach rose with pink tips. Her smile grew as he handed it over.

Sniffing it, she murmured, "It's lovely. Thank you, Raymond."

"You are most welcome," he answered. "You look amazing."

"Thank you for the dress and the complement," she returned.

"It was nothing," he assured her. "Shall we go?"

They arrived fashionably late to the event. Hermione's hand around his bicep as they made their way in. Cocktails were still being served as they strolled in. He was fetching their drinks when none other than Ron strolled over to Hermione with a blond woman, who managed to be dressed in what looked like cheap tissue paper and ill-fitting shoes. They were so ill-fitting that her feet looked like they were giving the woman a great deal of pain.

"Should have known that you lied," Ron said, looking smug.

"About what, Ronald?" Hermione asked him.

"About having a date, of course," he stated and standing all the taller for it.

"But…"

"No need to keep the lie up, Hermione." The girl, for now Hermione could see that she wasn't all that old beneath her heavy makeup, giggled in a rather annoying fashion. "Perhaps if you're lucky some chap here will take pity on you and pretend to be your escort."

"But…"

"After all, you are Hermione Granger. That should get you a shag at the very least," he drawled.

"Good evening, Mr. Weasley," came Raymond's deep, hard voice from behind him.

Ron lost every bit of color, as he turned slowly to face him.

"As tactless as ever," Raymond said, as he went over to Hermione. Handing her the fire whiskey she had wanted, he looked over to Ron. "Was he being a pest, darling?"

"Yes, but such is his nature, I fear," she murmured, just as Ginny and Harry came over to greet her.

"Hermione, aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?" Ginny asked, looking curious.

"Harry, Ginny, this is my friend, Raymond," she answered. "Raymond, these two are my good friends Harry and Ginny Potter. Ginny is Ronald's sister."

"Ah," he breathed. "That gives me at least one answer." He looked over to them. "Pleasure to make your acquaintances."

"What's his last name?" Ronald demanded.

"When it becomes your business to order me to say anything about anyone, you'll be the first to find out," Hermione answered. "If you'll please excuse us, I see Neville and I do so want to introduce my date to people other than your sister and her husband—all of who haven't allowed their brains to atrophy."

"Oi, what do you mean by that?!" he yelled even as they walked away from him.

"It's a pity about him," Hermione said to Raymond. "He really is an amazing strategist when he doesn't allow his minor brain to take up all his oxygenated blood."

That had Red chuckling quietly, as forth to socialize.

…

Harry walked up to Ron, who was at the bar glaring at Hermione and her date. She was radiant with her happiness. It was hard to miss. Raymond, the man was charm personified. Even Severus Snape, one of the grumpiest bastards on the planet, was charmed by him.

"What does he have that I don't?" Ron asked him.

"Besides charm, intelligence, and the ability not to piss off Hermione every five seconds?" Harry asked dryly.

"Ha-ha," Ron muttered angrily.

"Ron," Harry said in a hard voice. "I want you to listen to what I have to say and then I never want to talk about this again." His friend looked over to him. "You're the one that fucked up, not Hermione. You thought by supposedly borrowing money, which I don't buy any more than George does, flashing around your name, and screwing every woman that let you that you would somehow become a better person. It didn't work. You can't blame her for you doing either. You wanted to do that nonsense. And because you did, you lost the trust and love of one of the best people you know. And that's all your own doing. You do not have a leg to stand on with this weak argument of yours. Grow up, Ronald, and perhaps one day you'll earn the love of a worthy woman instead of bouncing around the litany of bimbos you've been screwing for longer than you'll ever admit to."

Harry walked away, going to find his wife. Just then George went over to him, looking over from him to Hermione and back again.

"Harry's right," his older brother told him, even as he looked over to Hermione, who was laughing next to Raymond. The man kept a possessive hand lightly pressed to the small of her back. "You were dragging Hermione through hell and for what?"

"She needs me," he muttered to which George snorted.

"I think not!" The taller redhead stepped closer to him. "It's more along the lines of you need her. And to top off that stinking pile, you have the nerve to resent her for it. Ron, get over yourself. The only thing you're proved to her is that you can be a right prat without effort." He looked at his watch. "You best go home, as you're the one opening the store in the morning."

"But…" he started to whine only to have his brother glaring at him.

"Do you want me to tell mum what you did?"

Sighing heavily, he said, "Fine. I'm off. See you later."

George looked over to Victor, who got on the phone with someone and had Ron followed home to ensure that he wouldn't start any trouble that night.

…

They walked to her door with Red taking the key from her and unlocking the door before handing it back over to her.

"This was a great night," Hermione murmured.

"Yes, it was," he said quietly. "It feels like I haven't been that relaxed in an age."

"Do you have to go?" she asked.

He nodded. "I pushed off business for as long as I could." Raymond pulled her forward, kissing her mouth lightly before putting a more lingering one on her forehead. Stepping back, he told her, "Get some rest and I'll call you when I can."

Smiling she said, "Which will no doubt be tomorrow."

He smiled. "Yes, that will more than likely be the case. Good night, Hermione."

"Good night, Raymond." She paused and added in a louder voice, "Good night, Harry! Good night, Ginny!"

Going onto tip toe, Hermione deposited a kiss on Red's cheek and went into her apartment. Raymond turned around in time to see Harry and Ginny appearing from underneath a cloak of some sort.

"We wanted to make sure that you respected her," Ginny defended them. "Given what a prat my brother was to her, it was the least we could have done."

Red nodded to this. "She has my utmost respect."

"We know that," Harry said quietly.

"Now," Ginny added reluctantly.

This had Raymond smiling, as he walked out of the apartment building and head to his car.

…

Meanwhile, outside was none other than Severus Snape watching the building. First Red left followed quickly by Harry Potter and his wife. Rolling his eyes, he thought that they could have used spell craft rather than relying on the cloak all the time. He had seen them far sooner than Hermione had.

His mobile phone began to ring. Lifting it out of his pocket he saw that it was Hermione.

Frowning he answered it, "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"I saw you outside my flat," she murmured. "Good night, Severus."

Rolling his eyes, he muttered, "Good night." And hung up the phone.

Damn know it all, he thought sourly, as he walked away to the apparition point. But even so, he was smiling as he went home.

**The End.**

**…**

**Bulgarian Translations!**

**Milichka- dear heart**

**Leka nosht- good night**

**I got these translations from my cellphone (specifically Google Translations). If these are inaccurate, I apologize. Any and all mistakes outside of these translations are completely my own.**

**And there's another one shot finished! I'm really enjoying these stories quite a bit and, thankfully, so are you. If you could, please review. It makes my day. Thank you and have a magnificent day!**


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